RFK Jr Public Health Cuts Draw Fire as Measles and Cyclospora Outbreaks Leave Americans Exposed

Two outbreaks, one parasitic and one viral, have converged into a single accusation against the man running American public health: that his cuts left the country blind just as disease came calling.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is under mounting political fire as a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak sickens more than 1,600 people and measles surges toward its worst year in over three decades.

Senator Jon Ossoff has directly blamed Kennedy's dismantling of a federal foodborne-illness tracking system for the parasite's spread, while a separate CNN investigation details his broader effort to reshape the country's vaccine infrastructure amid the measles resurgence.

Ossoff Ties a Parasite Outbreak to a Terminated Tracking System

The sharpest attack came in a letter dated 16 July. Senator Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat, wrote to Kennedy that 'last year, you terminated' the CDC's required surveillance of Cyclospora cayetanensis, the parasite behind the outbreak, adding: 'And now a cyclosporiasis outbreak sweeps the nation. Your foolish and self-indulgent demolition of critical public health programs puts Americans at risk.'

The programme at issue is FoodNet, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network jointly run by the CDC, the US Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and ten state health departments.

Beginning 1 July 2025, FoodNet made reporting optional for every pathogen except Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, ending mandatory tracking of Cyclospora that had been in place since 1997.

Ossoff demanded within 72 hours to know whether the tracking had been restored, why it was cut, and where the source investigation stood. The Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and HHS had yet to respond to Ossoff more than four days later. He was not alone: Representative Greg Stanton of Arizona sent his own letter raising the same concern.

A Contested Line Between Budget Cuts and Sickness

Whether the surveillance change actually enabled the outbreak is disputed, and the distinction matters. The CDC has said the FoodNet reduction reflects an evolving surveillance system, noting that other public health programmes still monitor the same pathogens and that narrowing requirements lets staff focus on core activities while preserving the network. Former CDC infectious diseases director Dr Dan Jernigan told ABC that FoodNet had suffered 'chronically low funding' for years.

Critics argue the cut did not cause contamination but blinded the system meant to catch it. Robert Shpiner, a clinical professor at UCLA's medical school, wrote that the looser monitoring made it easier to miss the outbreak, since the change weakened the capacity to flag that 'something unusual is happening.'

The hunt for the source has been rocky: the FDA named a Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce batch on Saturday, then reversed the finding on Sunday, underscoring how hard the parasite has been to trace.

Cyclosporiasis produces watery, sometimes explosive diarrhoea, cramping, nausea and fatigue, and past US outbreaks have been linked to imported fresh produce such as raspberries, cilantro, basil and snow peas. More than 100 people have been hospitalised in the current outbreak, which spans at least 34 states.

A Vaccine Overhaul Shadowed by the Return of Measles

The foodborne row runs parallel to a graver one over vaccines. A CNN investigation published on 16 July detailed Kennedy's push to reshape decades of US vaccine policy, including internal debate over the childhood immunisation schedule, as the country endures its largest measles resurgence in more than 30 years. Vaccine expert Paul Offit warned that Kennedy's casting of doubt on shots makes outbreaks harder to curb, telling CNN: 'We're screwed.'

The numbers behind the alarm are stark. The CDC recorded 2,288 measles cases in 2025, the most since 1991 and Kennedy's first year atop the agency, with three deaths including two unvaccinated children in Texas. By mid-2026 the pace had quickened, with cases already approaching the previous year's total and a single outbreak along the Utah-Arizona line exceeding 600 infections, threatening the elimination status the US achieved in 2000.

Kennedy has rejected responsibility, telling lawmakers across marathon hearings that the outbreaks have 'nothing to do' with him and insisting, 'I have never been anti-vaccine.' His critics point to concrete actions, chiefly his June 2025 dismissal of all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee, a panel whose recommendations govern insurance coverage and the Vaccines for Children programme, and their replacement with noted vaccine sceptics. HHS spokeswoman Courtney Spencer disputed key details of the Reuters reporting as inaccurate, including any plan to scrap the childhood schedule.

The political temperature has risen accordingly. Representative Haley Stevens introduced articles of impeachment against Kennedy in December 2025, and Democrats have made his stewardship of the health department a midterm rallying point.

Two outbreaks, a parasite and a virus, have handed Kennedy's opponents the same argument from different directions, and his answer to both is that the system is working as intended.